What our critics have to say about this week's top releases!
Jurassic World Rebirth: Who Let The Dinos Out (Again)? | Rebirth is stranded somewhere between a trashy Jurassic World tone and vintage Jurassic Park treatment, writes Rahul Desai | | | | | Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey | | | | GENETICALLY ALTERED FREAKS. Engineered entertainment. Responding to audiences. These are some of the phrases used to describe mutated dinosaurs and the programme that ‘created’ them in Jurassic World: Rebirth . But these phrases apply better to the long-running film franchise itself — so genetically altered from its original DNA, so engineered to entertain younger audiences, that they’ve become big dumb monster movies rather than the poignant sci-fi adventures that Steven Spielberg introduced to the world. The best part of Rebirth — the seventh of the long-running series and the first following the doomed Jurassic World trilogy — is the pre-film teaser of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey . Wait, who am I kidding? The teaser didn’t even play before my matinee show in Mumbai. But even the anticipation of the teaser is the best part of this prehistoric movie. | | | Abhishek Bachchan Is The Heart Of Kaalidhar Laapata | WE ARE IN AN ERA where Abhishek Bachchan is going on a deep curve in his career while choosing roles that he has never done before. Over the past few years, Bachchan has embraced roles with emotional depth and has begun to explore more fatherly characters, starting with Breathe: Into the Shadows and Ludo in 2020. Now, after five years, his exploration of diverse roles hasn't stopped, and the scripts he is receiving reflect this. Now, Bachchan returns with Kaalidhar Laapata, based on the 2019 Tamil film K.D. At first glimpse, I wondered how is it possible for Bachchan to play the role originally portrayed by 80-year-old Mu Ramaswamy? But that's how cinematic liberty works in the world. Read the review here . — AISHWARYA VASUDEVAN | | Nagesh Kukunoor Depicts A Haunting, Tense Manhunt | THE HUNT: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case details the 90-day manhunt that ensued after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime minister of India. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) launched an aggressive inquiry after a suicide bomber targeted the PM at an electoral gathering in Tamil Nadu. Following the book Ninety Days: The True Story of the Hunt for Rajiv Gandhi's Assassins , the series provides an in-depth examination of this pivotal moment. Nagesh Kukunoor, storyboards a series where every motion is so well choreographed (right down to how the actors are positioned in each frame) it feels as though history is repeating, literally. Read the review here. — A.V. | | | Heads of State: Here for The Goofy, Global Chaos | REMEMBER WHEN Suicide Squad (we only talk about the James Gunn version) released and we all low-key rooted for the bromance between John Cena and Idris Elba? The two men, playing niche DC characters, brought out such beautiful chemistry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport that we all wanted more of them. Whether we will get more of them is something only James Gunn can say (now gearing up for his DCU kickstarting film Superman) . What we do know is that Amazon Prime Video has brought that same pairing in a very lucrative dynamic yet again for a world-at-stake espionage drama which is not supposed to be taken seriously in any way — even when Priyanka Chopra throws a ‘Ketch-up later’ pun while reporting on Spain's Tomatina Festival. — SHUBHAM KULKARNI | | 3 BHK: Sri Ganesh's Film Is Inauthentic To A Fault | AN HOUR INTO 3 BHK , director Sri Ganesh stages a scene in a restaurant that is completely disconnected from the rest of the film. Prabhu (Siddharth) and his sister Aarthy take their parents, Vasudevan and Shanthi (Sarath Kumar and Devayani), to a fancy restaurant for their wedding anniversary. The restaurant is way out of their middle class means. As a flabbergasted Vasudevan looks at the menu and his surroundings, Prabhu turns to him and says “ Kaalam maari pochu (times have changed)”. It is a regular aphorism, but it is also the title of a popular 1996 film from the stables of V Sekar, the ‘90s kingpin of middle-class family dramas. That moment really clicked into place what is not working with 3 BHK , ostensibly a similar film but one that takes itself way too seriously. — ADITYA SHRIKRISHNA | | | The one newsletter you need to decide what to watch on any given day. Our editors pick a show, movie, or theme for you from everything that’s streaming on OTT. | | Each week, our editors pick one long-form, writerly piece that they think is worthy of your attention, and dice it into easily digestible bits for you to mull over. | | In which we invite a scholar of cinema, devotee of the moving image, to write a prose poem dedicated to their poison of choice. Expect to spend an hour on this. | | | Hindustan Media Ventures Limited,
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